ment, could form no judgment of fymmetry, grace, elegance, or any other beauty of form." P. 82. What is here faid of colour is undoubtedly true; and there is much truth in what follows; though the apparent contradiction, at the conclufion of the paragraph, to the doctrine of Sir Joshua Reynolds, may be easily shown to be perfectly confiftent with that do&trine. "Both colours and forms, fo far as they exhibit pleafing maffes of light and fhadow to the eye, are beautiful in animals, as well as in other productions of the creation; and confequently may render one animal more beautiful than another, confidering its beauty as addreffed to the fenfe of feeing only. We cannot indeed determine whether or not a particular animal be beautiful in its kind without having feen many of that kind; for this is a refult of comparifon but we can readily decide which is the moft beautiful of two animals of different kinds; or which is beautiful, and which is ugly, though we have feen but one of each kind. I never faw but one zebra and one rhinoceros; and yet I found no difficulty in pronouncing the one to be a very beautiful, and the other a very ugly animal; nor have I ever met with any perfon that did." P. 83. That the colours of the zebra produce more pleafing irritations in the organs of vifion than the colours of the rhinoceros, is probably true. The colours of the former animal are therefore more beautiful than the colours of the latter by those principles, which the prefent author appears to have established beyond the reach of controverfy; but it is the beauty of form, of which Sir Jofhua was treating. That every European would confider the form of the zebra as more beautiful than that of the rhinoceros, muft, we think, be granted; but it is not felf-evident that this judgment would be made by the man, who had never feen any other quadrupeds than thefe two. Of the various fpecies of animals, with which we are familiar, we make a comparison as we do of the individuals of the fame fpecies, and judge of their beauty on nearly the fame principles. Thus the borfe is probably deemed the moft beautiful quadruped in England, as well on account of his utility to man, his fpirit, fwiftnefs, cleanlinefs and docility, as on account of the proportions of the various parts of his body to each other, and the fitness of the whole to the purpofes which he is trained to ferve. The Hog, on the other hand is deemed ugly becaufe he is dirty, intractable, abfolutely ufelefs, except as food after he is killed, and generally offenfive to the fenfe of fmell. But the zebra bears a ftriking refemblance, in many particulars, to a beau tiful horfe, the rhinoceros to a monftrous overgrown fow; and perhaps no man ever looked on these two animals without finding the idea of a horfe brought into his view by the former, and the idea of a hog with all its filthinefs by the latter. If fo, the preference given to the form of the zebra, is at once accounted for, without interfering with the theory of the illuftrious artist. (To be continued.) 1 ART. II. The Poetical Works of Sir David Lyndfay of the MR. R.Chalmers has here given a much improved and excellent edition of the works of Sir David Lyndfay, the Langeland of Scotland; and made it the vehicle of fome profound obfervations, and found critical difquifition on the origin, the nature and the introduction of the Teutonic tongue into Gaelic Scotland. The text of Lyndlay may now be confidered as fettled, and this publication is entitled to the highest commendation, not only as a claffical edition of the author, but from the moft circumftantial and fatisfactory life of the poet hitherto printed, from the prefatory differtations on the Scottish language, and from an appropriate gloffary, the moft elaborate and the most perfect we have ever had the opportunity to examine This edition of Lyndfay is moreover enlarged by the Hiftorie of Squyer Meldrum, and the Satyre of the Three Eftaitis. The chronology of all the poems is for the first time adjusted, and a fuccinct but perfpicuous view of the Scottish language previous to the age of Lyndfay is exhibited, and the conclufion drawn, (which indeed is incidentally confirmed by the gloffary) that the common fource of the Scottish fpeech is the Anglo Saxon dialect of the Northumbrian kingdom. They who know the editor will not require to be informed that his deductions in general are not drawn haftily, but are the refult of the most perfevering inveftigation, and indefatigable enquiry. With respect to the prin C 3 cipal cipal point, of the natural dèfcent of the old English from the Anglo-Saxon and the Scottish from both, we are of opinion that it is very ably illuftrated. But here let the author fpeak for himfelf; "Without running-into fanciful theories, on the origin of the English language, in Scotland, it is fufficient to state, as an hiftorical fact, which is capable of moral demonstration, that the English people of Scotland were the fame as the English people of England, though perhaps a little more mixed with Flemings, and Danes. The people, and their speech, are correlative. The fame people must neceffarily have the fame fpeech," though poffibly not the fame grammar. The exiftence of the fame fpeech, in two feparate countries, evinces, that, the people were the fame, in their lineage. It is a fact, as we have feen, that the English fpeech of Scotland was the fame, at the earliest epoch, when the English fpeech began to grow out of the Anglo-Saxon root. It was the fame at the commencement of the fourteenth century. It was the fame at the commencement of the fifteenth century. And Dunbar, Douglas, and Lyndfay, as they them, felves avow, wrote the fame language as Chaucer, Gower, and Lydgate, at the commencement of the fixteenth century. "It will be admitted, that the language of Wiclif, who died in 1384, is the best standard of the English tongue, during his age. If it be acknowledged, that the language of that learned reformer is a genuine fpecimen of true old English, it may eafily be shown, that the Scotifh people have retained that standard of the English, particularly in their forenfic forms, while the English have departed from it. If it be true, that the great body of the English language is derived from the Anglo-Saxon; if it be true, that the broad Scotifh remains nearer, both in its matter, and form, to the Anglo-Saxon, than the English itfelf; it will follow, as a fair inference, if we except the expreffions of cant, and the words of anomaly, that the Scotifh fpeech has continued nearer the AngloSaxon original, than the English, But, though the modern Englifh, in the progrefs of refinement, has become fomewhat different in pronunciation, and orthography, from the Scotifh speech; yet the dialects of England, particularly, thofe of the North, remain pretty much the fame as the vernacular language of Scotland. Many Scotifh vocables, which fuperficial obfervers regard, as peculiar to Scotland, may all be found in the northern diajects of England. It follows, as a fair deduction from the foregoing intimations, that the feveral dialects of England are merely the old language of England; and that of course, the vernacular fpeech of Scotland is merely old English, with the flight peculiarities of provincial analogy. Experience, indeed, evinces, that very flight caufes will give rife to dialects: alteration of place, change of connection, the the barrier of a mountain, the ceffation of intercourse, the want of cultivation; all these causes will create dialectic forms of fpeech. With the pretenfions of Edward I. to the fovereignty of Scotland, and the acceffion of Robert Bruce, when the English languages of the two kingdoms were the fame, began long wars, and ever-during enmity, eftrangement, and feparation, which continued between thofe kindred people, during four wretched centuries of abfurd government. In that long period of warfare, and of jealoufy, the English cultivated their language, while the Scotifh people, who were harraffed by foreign wars, and disturbed by domeftic feuds, neglected theirs. As there is fcarcely an abfurdity, that fome philofophers have not maintained, fo are there fome theorists, who hold, that the Scotifh people took the lead, in improving their fpeech, while the English folks retained their ancient talk. As far as there is any argument in mere af fertion, it must be wretched reafoning, which runs against facts: In truth, the language of Dunbar, Douglas, and Lyndfay, is the fame English, which had come down to them from Gower, Chaucer, and Lydgate, while the language of thofe old English poets became gradually improved. In this view of the subject, I cannot perceive any difficulty, far lefs infuperable difficulties," in fhowing how the Scotifh dialect was formed." The Scotif dialect was formed, as the various dialects of England were formed, by retaining antiquated words and old orthography, while the ftandard English relinquished both, and adopted novelties. "A few examples will illuftrate this pofition, by fhowing the gradual change, which took place, in the fucceffive improvement of the English fpeech : "This comparative lift might be purfued into a large vocabu lary; I will only add a few fpecimens of the changes, which the English have made, in their paffion for metathefos : "While the progreffive improvement of the English has ope rated great alterations on the common fpeech, by changing the Saxon vocables, the fame Saxon remains have been preferved in the vulgar dialects of England, and Scotland, through many ages, almoft in their original form, Take the following ex, amples : And many Saxon words, which have been long fince difcarded from the polifhed English, are ftill retained, in common use, in the vulgar dialects, both of North and South Britain: for ex ample, Saxon. English. defired. bacd Thefe might be continued to a great extent of fimilar instances but, the foregoing examples are fufficient to fhow how closely the common people have adhered to the fpeech of their Saxon anceftors, during many centuries of innovation, perhaps of improve ment, in the cultivated language of England. And they fhow the futility of the fuppofition, that the people of North Britain began the improvement of their fpeech, before the people of the South had cultivated theirs." Vol. i, p. 137. As was before obferved, the chronology of the poems is here adjufted, the attempt to do which had never before been made, but to each poem are prefatory obfervations which demonftrate the author's acutenefs of remark and diligence of enquiry, This is particularly confpicuous in the obfervations prefixed to the Satyre of the Three Eftaitis, which is a mora |